


Book X- Wheel of Fortune - Rock bottom. (alternate ending)

by Leila_Jax



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-09 04:41:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14709278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leila_Jax/pseuds/Leila_Jax
Summary: When the elevator to the dungeon and the source of Julian's nightmares, as well as his cure, has been found, Leila comes up with a plan.





	Book X- Wheel of Fortune - Rock bottom. (alternate ending)

“Of all the places to wind up” a chill raises, goosebumps on my arms, but I hesitate. My eyes fixed on the end of the hallway. We didn’t to search Lucio’s room thoroughly earlier, not under Nadia's watchful eye. If Juilan went from the dungeon directly to Lucio’s room. Maybe there’s a passage in there? The wing is deserted, now. We can search all we want.

“Well, at least, we are together in the ‘places to wind up.’” As I smiled an eerie moan whispered on the stale wind. Very familiar.

“Was that…? No, must’ve been my imagination. It's nothing. It has to be nothing. Right, Leila?” I didn’t need to look at the panic on his face, it was very clear in his voice. But that is the direction we need to go in.

“We should really check Lucio’s room.”

“Shouldn’t we go find Portia? Look somewhere else? Maybe, er leave and never come back.”

“Julian. We might find something we missed last time. What if the passage to the dungeon is in there?”

“Well, yes, but…but”

“It's alright.” Impulsively, I have his hand, lacing our fingers together. He look like he needs it. “I’m still here and I'm not going to let anything take you. Not even ghosts.” That is what Lucio is. A ghost. A spectre. A damned soul.

“Oh, you’re right, Leila. I can't put this off any longer.” Our footsteps echo in the empty wing. I can feel eye on us, but when I look around, there’s no one there. I mustn’t look more scared than Julian.

“Besides, ghosts don’t do that much damage. If moaning is all that this one can do, then we're fine."

“Look at me, I'm failed doctor whose haunted by the very memories of my dead patients. Ghost don’t need to touch me.”

“Fair point. But I still wont let anything take you.” The door to the count’s room is ajar. Beyond the threshold, there is only inky darkness. Julian’s grip on my hand tightens as the door swings shut behind us.

Taking a calming breath, I focus, summoning an orb of light so I can see the lanterns. It’s hard than usual. The darkness feels stifling. I light the lanterns from afar. Their flames flicker to life one at a time, casting a hazy red glow over the room. It looks like Nadia and the servants have finished repairing the room. As the light return, so does Julian’s curiosity. He lets go my hand and starts walking around room.

“You know…thanks to you, I’ve started to remember things. But I still don’t have all my memories yet.” He reaches out, running his fingertips along one of the bookshelves lining the wall. “I spent so long wondering about what happened in here. I thought maybe, if I came, faced the past, I’d find some kind of absolution. But now that I know I arrived after the fire started, I can see it as it really is. Just an empty, dusty old room.” Julian falls silent, staring up at the towering portrait on the wall.

The last time we were here, Portia was cleaning this portrait when that strange white shape knocked over her ladder. I didn’t have time to absorb all the details then, but now I study it carefully. The crimson coat, the intricate golden arm, the sumptuous fur, the victorious pose. Vanity. Pride. Power. Looking at it, I think I can imagine what kind of man the Count was, in life. But something about it strikes me as strange.

“Leila, the portraits in the hallway all had their eyes gouged out. Why is this one different?” He is not wrong but before I could give it any thought, thumps boomed through the room.

“What was that?” a shiver goes down my spine. The knocks came from inside the room but I don’t see anything that could've caused them. “You know what, Leila. I bet its just Pasha, trying to prank us. She used to do this all the time when we were kids. She’d knock on walls and walk around in sheet, then tell everyone it was a ghost. Always denied it after, but I knew it was her.” Three of the lanterns flames putter out, casting Lucio's portrait in shadow.

“Y-y-you can’t scare me, Pasha!” His eye darts frantically around the room. “I bet she’s just outside, laughing at us. Let’s get out of here.” He approaches the door, reaching for the trembling fingers. Outside, someone slams a fist into the door with a thunderous impact. Julian back pedals so quickly he almost falls.

“We know you’re in there! We can hear you!” Well, that's not a ghost at least.

“Ohhh no.” Damn it, we got found out? How can that be? We weren’t followed. We fell into the hallway and there was no one around. Now is not the time to wonder. My mind argues with itself. Heart hammering in my chest, I shove Julian down behind a chair, out of sight.

“Shut up and stay down.” I calmly walk from the chair but Julian pokes out his red locks.

“You know, if we in a  _different_  situation I’ll be happy to do that.” I couldn’t keep a serious face but tried desperately to scold him.

“Get down.” He duck down again, cheeky git. One day, just one day, I'll get that night with him. Steeling my nerves, I step closer to the door.

“It’s terribly rude to make us wait so long when we’ve been so patient! Stop ignoring us and open the door, Lucio!” Wait what? Lucio? Why are they calling for Lucio? Even witches and fortune tellers wouldn't call to the dead. The door bursts open and I hastily step into the doorway, blocking entrance.

“Oh! You are not who I expected. Who are you?”

“Out of the way, Volta!” I remember these two. They were there when Nadia introduced me to the court. Procurator Volta and Pontifex Vulgora. Why were they shouting for Lucio? “You! magician. Why are you here?!” This lot were bad enough in the lounge. Nadia is not here to command them, but I am here in her name.

“Investigating, just like my client, YOUR Countess, has requested. Why are you here?”

“We ere just coming to pay a visit to-“

“NO ONE. We weren’t coming to visit anyone”

“Well, then don't you mind if I continue, alone. I find silence the best for concentration.” I tried to slam the door on them but Vulgora's claws gripped the edge, her tips scratching, peeling at the paint and burrowing into the wood. It's just as well I never had to shake her hand.

“In fact, we came because we heard intruders. Right, Volta?”

“Oh, yes, yes Vulgora.”

“Instead, it seems we’ve found the Countess’ pet magician. Now run along! We have business here.” Vulgora grabs my shoulder, the tips of her gauntleted fingers digging in painfully. Yep, really glad I didn’t shake her hand. I plant my heels, determined not to move, trying not to let the discomfort show on my face. I can’t let them see Julian, no matter what. I’ve handled her before and I will again.

“I cannot let you move or tamper with anything. The smallest detail destroyed could mean the Countess demise. Surely, as the Countess’s most trusted advisers, would not let such a tragedy to happen?”

“YOU QUESTION MY LOYALTY TO –“

“Oh!” Volta starts sniffing the air, turning her head this way and that. “Do you smell that, Vulgora?” Ice-cold adrenaline floods my veins. Impossible, she can’t possibly smell him, can she? “Food! Oh it must be lunchtime with the Countess! And I, Volta, am famished! Starving! So, very, very hungry.” She must by the why she is chewing her own fingers. Volta tugs frantically at Vulgora’s sleeve, staring eagerly down the hallway, practically salivating. Vulgora smacks away Volta’s grasping hand, snarling in frustration.

“Shut up, Volta!”

“Please, please, dear Vulgora, we must go! Oh, we must find the food before it is all gone!” Volta scuttles down the hallways, still sniffing the air and Vulgora turns a poisonous glare on me.

“We were never here, magician, understand? If you tell anyone about this, I’ll crush you skull.” With last sneer, Vulgora turns and stalks down the hallway. Once they’re definitely gone, I held on to my shoulder.

“Aaargh! Bitch those claws. How does Nadia put with that?!” I lower my shirt to inspect my shoulder. By some miracle, there no blood she didn’t even pieced through the skin. Julian comes out from his hiding spot. He turns me around to face him, checking my shoulder with trembling fingers.

“Leila, are you alright?” I nod. My shoulder is sore where Vulgora dug their claw tips in, but I’m just unsettled, not hurt.

“Yeah, that Vulgora is a partially nasty breed. This isn’t my first run in with them and I doubt it will be the last.”

“You are indeed brave to stand up to her but don’t confuse bravery with foolishness.”

“Of course not. You’re the foolish one.” He huffs a smile and small chuckle. “But you’re still helpful.”

“Oh? Am i?” I place my hand on his cool, pale skin face.

“Your memories are very valuable, Julian and they have already proved that you are not Lucio's killer and that there is more to this than we expected. They even lead us here, where we would catch Volta and Vulgora calling for Lucio.”

“I think I remember them.” Volta and Vulgora. They’re courtiers at the palace, aren’t they? Them, Vlastomil, and …and Valdemar.” He sudders, running his hands distractedly through his hair.

“I take it, he is the worst?” By the name it sounds like a he.

“My old boss. We’re lucky they aren’t here. We were… we were working on a cure for the plague…. Underground.” Grimacing in pain, he winces, pressing his fingers against his temple. Then suddenly, he bolts up right, his eye wide. “I remember! I remember how to get there! It's in the library, Leila!” Julian dashes past me. Caught flat-footed, I have to scramble to keep up.

As we turn the corner, we almost collide with someone going the other way.

“Ily- I mean, Ian! Leila! What happened?!” Oh, it must a lucky day. We run into Portia.

“Pasha, just who I wanted to see! I remember how to get to the dungeon! There’s a secret passageway in the library. Do you have the key? Good, good, this way quickly!” Julian rushes off, leaving Portia and I to chase after him. By the time we reach the library, my legs are burning from the exertion.

I stop to catch my breath while Portia open the complicated locks on the library door.

“I’ve never heard of a secret passageway in the library before”

“Valdemar insisted on secrecy, none of the palace staff knew about it” Julian hurries to a bookcase, running his fingers along the book spines and muttering to himself. “Lets see, it was….red, leather, black with gold….ah ha!” he pulls on three books, one after another. They tilts, but stop without coming fully off their shelves. Then a section of bookcase slides open, revealing a dark, unlit passageway.

“I can’t believe it. This was here the whole time?” Portia exclaims while Julian’s eye is alight with the thrill of discovery, but peering down into the darkness, I only feel dread. Something tells me to not go down there, with company.

“I’m remembering Leila more and more. I know the answers are down there.” All we need to do now is face whatever is down there. Discreetly, I search in my pocket for an item, given to me by Mazelinka. Her word ringing clearly in my ears. 

"It's all finished. You're sure you have to the heart to do it?" She hands over the box and I smile at it's contents.

"You said it yourself, Maze. He certainly is a slippery one but I'm about to let go of him so easily." She chuckles to herself.

"He has met his match. You too might have the whole down just to protect each other." Drifting away from that memory. i had hoped i wouldn't have to use it but I sense it wont be long before I have to. Realising its still there, safely tucked in my pocket, I smile.

“Then let’s go.” Squaring my shoulders, I call up an orb of light. It casts flickering shadows over the tunnels walls.

“I’ll stand guard up here, make sure nobody follows you. Be careful, you two. Please.”

“Promise, Pasha. We’ll be back before you know it.” Julian steps down before me.

“I will return him to you safely, Portia.” I gaze at her with promising eyes.

“I know you will.” Though, I don’t think she fully understood what I meant.

“If we don’t not come back soon, you can look for us” Together, we descend into the tunnel.

 

* * *

 

 

The tunnel is dark and damp. Unfinished dirt walls press in around us and tangled roots dangle from the ceiling. But as soon as we step foot on the dirt, Julian goes rigid the dashes into the darkness. I stumble on the uneven floor more than once, but Julian is surefooted. He seems to know the way by heart. It seems like hours, though it must be only minutes, before we emerge into a larger cavern.

“There, ah there should be torches somewhere here.” I concentrate, making the orb of light larger and brighter, until I can see where I need to aim. The torches are old but there’s still a little fuel left. I concentrate and light them with a flick of my fingers. The form two rows, lighting a path to a mechanical contraption in the centre of the cavern. Julian hesitates to approach it, his shoulders going tense with discomfort. I interlace our fingers and he give me a strained smile. He grips my hand tightly as we approach it. It’s not until we’re right front of it that I realise its purpose. It’s a massive, magically-powered machine, designed to raise and lower a cage barely big enough for one person. The cage is surrounded by a metal enclosure with some kind of locking mechanism. The crude gears and pulleys are caked in rust and grime. It looks like nobody has been down here in some time.

“This…is know this. It’s an old nightmare.” Dread skitters long fingers down my spine. The longer we stand her, the more certain I am. Somewhere below this cavern… there’s something deep and dark and terrible. Julian seems to feel it too or perhaps he’s remembering it. With more inspection of the cage, its only big enough for one person. And if I know Julian…  
His eye darts around the cavern chasing every flicking shadow. With a deep breath, he fishes in his coat and pulls out the key he took from his desk. The red stone set it glimmers sullenly in the torches light. If I know Julian, he will find the truth, in his shame he will hide it from us and…

“Here it is.” The enclosure's locking mechanism has a rusty plaque with a keyhole bolted to it. Julian bends close and reads it aloud.

“Bloody hands may turn the key. Know the weight of your sins and enter. Well, uh. That’s…that's rather unpleasant, isn’t it?” Or someone may be waiting for him down there. He can't go alone.

“Here, let me try.” I insert the key, but it catches and wont turn. No matter how hard I try, I cant force it.

“Leila… I think it has to be me.” When Julian turns the key, the rusty mechanism groans to life and both the enclose and cage doors slide open. He stare at the cage his expression stricken. He looks so afraid. Of himself, more than anything else. I ache to see him look so despondent. In his daze my hands sprung from my pockets and I wrapped my arms around, holding him tight. Wait, I searched through that desk myself before meeting Julian and didn’t find that key. Suddenly it was there for Julian to find. did i just miss it? No, I was looking. I cant let him go down, not alone. But if we can’t go together then…

“Leila” he curls his arms around my waist and press cheek against my hair, breathing me in. Just a moment longer, I want this moment to last. To be always in my mind. After a while, he speaks.

“I’ve been asking myself a question ever and over since last night. Even if I didn’t kill the count, what am I guilty of? I’ve forgotten so much. Even though my memories are coming back, I don’t remember entire years, Leila. What did I do? Maybe I didn’t feel any better in Lucio's room because that’s not where my crimes are. Maybe… maybe they’re here. At the bottom of this pit.” The second I felt his muscle tense for a get away, I held on tighter and plunged a sophisticated, hand-held, glass pump with needle into his flesh and pressed harder onto the plunger. Quicker than I thought, his muscles relax and soon looses all control of his legs, collapsing into my arms.

“I’m sorry, but Asra never taught me a sleeping spell. You can thank Maze for her knowledge.” I lean him up against the wall. He looks so peaceful. Just like when we slept at Mazelinka's home. I take this one final opportunity to remember his face, the touch of his cold pale skin and ruby-fire hair and softness of his lips as I kiss them. Every part of him burned into my skull.

“Don’t…go.” Trying to fight the sedative, he speaks in the most quiet whisper.

“If you find out something, you’ll be too ashamed to tell us and leave us alone again. Portia will be down soon. Just head back to her house, if I'm not there by morning get to Maze. Get yourself safe!"

“No.” He drops his head, finally succumbing to sleep.

“Don’t worry, Maze has calculated the dose well even with your healing abilities." I stand, taking the key from the hole and entered the cage. As I stepped inside, I seemed to have triggered some sort of pressure pad as clanks and clangs boomed throughout the hall, slams the cage shut and slowly lowers itself. My eyes keep on sleeping Julian, disappearing from my sight….again.

 

* * *

 

“ILYA!? ILYA! WAKE UP!” After a few hours, Portia made her way down and found only her brother lying on the ground.

“Ilya!” He hears those familiar cries from that little sister he longed protected. His eye blinking open and forcing shut as his tries to focus. Portia in relief warps arm around him.

“Portia, what happened?” She pulls away, eyes watering.

“I was going to ask you that. Where’s Leila?”

“She....Lei-..Leila” His eye widen as the flashes of Leila disappearance wave through his mind. He snaps his eye to the cage door, rushes forward scrambling to his feet, he rattles at the iron bars with no hope of breaking through. His eye next dart to the key that was last left in the hole. It's no longer there.

“DAMN IT, LEILA!” He shouts into the pit. No response unsure if she even down there anymore. He rest his head on the bar, hand clutches at his chest. “She went down there. I couldn’t stop her. I was meant to go down but…”

“It’s been a few hours Ilya. She may already be back at the house. Come on, it's no use staying here.” With worried eyes he nods and both make their way back to Casa De Portia.


End file.
